Beth Hart said she didn’t want to know what Led Zeppelin thought of her recent tribute album.
She was reluctant to take part in the project until she found herself changing her approach to life during lockdown. It was spearheaded by producer Rob Cavallo, who assembled the band and chose the songs since Hart herself doesn’t own any Zeppelin records.
“All I did was sing,” she told Classic Rock in a recent interview. “And I couldn’t believe how good he made me sound. I had no idea how truly genius Jimmy Page was in his songwriting and arrangements. And how educated and well-read Robert Plant was – you can really hear it in his lyrics.” Asked if she’d heard from either British musician, she replied: “Oh, no, man. The only time they ever saw me sing was when I did the Kennedy Center Honors for Buddy Guy [in 2012]. I kinda stay out of all that stuff. And I get too starstruck anyway. I think that even if Plant did know about this record, I wouldn’t want to know what he said. Even if it was good.”
Hart was also asked about choosing not to change Plant’s gender-specific lyrics such as “I fell in love with a girl as sweet as can be.” “I have a history of bisexuality,” she explained. “I think women are fricking drop-dead gorgeous. I’m married to the sexiest man in the world, and I would never, ever do anything outside my marriage. But back in the day … well, women are awesome. They’re works of art. So it was really easy for me to dig into that. And I didn’t want to frick too much with the lyrics. There may be one or two times I say ‘woman’ instead of ‘man’, referring to myself, or something, but the rest of it I just thought it would be inappropriate and kinda rude to change that.”
After managing to quit smoking and making a breakthrough in the management of her mental health issues, Hart said she’s focused on creative work and completed 70 songs during lockdown. “I’ve got two albums all done, and I’m starting on a third,” she revealed. “What else are you gonna do? You can’t go anywhere. You gotta do something or you go friggin’ crazy!” She added that making music was what kept her going. “I’m never going to retire,” she said. “I’m going to do a Buddy Guy: 85 years old and still going to be playing. For three people on the street corner if need be. I can never stop. It’s healing.”
Led Zeppelin Albums Ranked
Counting down every canonical Led Zeppelin album, from worst (relatively speaking, of course) to best.
